6 Comments

It’s about time our representatives take the initiative to stop all these federal encroachments into our liberties and our right to educate our children as we see fit. Bravo!! Big Brother- drop dead.

Joseph A. Shearey
August 8, 2013 at 12:09 pm

Dear All,

OK, I completed the first draft of my rewrite of Rep. Andy Thompson’s HB237. I’ve decided to limit my comments and just do this re-write and let anyone ask questions pertaining to my markups if they feel inclined to do so.
The main concern was that the Bill didn’t do what it was purported to do. Primarily, it was to stop both CCSS from being implemented as well as the data collection on students.
The Bill attempted to stop CCSS implementation by instructing the OSBE and the ODE from using it and by defunding it, but it only addressed defunding with State of Ohio funds: not the funds from the Federal Government. The Fed money to fund CCSS was still there!
The biggest authority to keep the Feds from placing the CCSS into Ohio schools is/was the 10th Amendment. Unfortunately, I realize that Ohio could not claim the 10th Amendment protection as an authority to rebuff the Feds when Ohio waived their 10th Amendment right by agreeing to accept CCSS and the money.
When Tom DeWeese was touring Northern Ohio, I asked him what can we do now that the CCSS paperwork was signed and the monies transferred. Can we give it back? He said he didn’t know. This is the main question before us now: What do we do with the money that Ohio accepted? Thompson’s Bill didn’t address this issue. In my revision I addressed it but question its’ legality. I’m open for comments.
Another scary part is to realize that 45 of the States accepted CCSS funds. Since you only have to have some 38 States vote to give the Feds the authority to rule ALL the States, I questioned whether these 45 State “votes” were viewed as “acquiescent” votes to place CCSS in the Feds purview of authority over all the Sates. Somehow I don’t think it did, but it would only be by a technicality. I’m thinking that Ohio’s 10th Amendment right to rebuff the Feds is still intact. But again, I’m hoping it is and I based my treatment of the student data gathering issue on it being intact. But I’m open for comments.
Thompson’s Bill didn’t ultimately address preventing the student data mining. In Sec. 3301.078 (D) (1) at first attempts to defund it and in (2) and (3) and (4) attempts to ban the sharing of data or restricts it but basically still allows it.
In Sec (5) the Bill attempts to ban it from the Fed Government but then stipulates all kinds of exceptions such that in actuality, he still allows it. In Sec. (5) (a) et seq. Thompson accepts the issue of grants requiring data. This is the problem we’re in now: he doesn’t attempt to thwart that issue. The Bill doesn’t do what its’ purported to do. In my revision, I simply said no then deleted all the exceptions.
In Sec. (E) Thompson took the position that it’s OK to just notify, not ask permission of, just notify parents that their child’s data is going to be used in whatever capacity the government chooses and the parent has no control over it. No, I want to know exactly how it’s going to be used and I even want copies of such personal data on my child that is going to be used who knows where. So I took the “no” position by standing on the hope that the 10th Amendment protection was still intact and stipulated such and that we’re not going to do any of this stuff.
There’s also the issue of the government assuming that We People will just hand over our children’s privacy without our informed consent. Presumptuous and arrogant they are. Ohio should never have assumed such back in 2009/2010 when they first accepted CCSS and the money.
There was an issue of on-line data. I may be wrong but I didn’t want any data to be transmitted by third parties. I’m open for comments.
Then there was all kinds of grammatical confusion. I attempted to clarify the issue by addressing the different Ohio State agencies by their specific titles and by adding commas. I noticed that the ORC didn’t use capitol letters and neither did Thompson’s Bill. There may be a reason for this but I didn’t like the absence of grammar. So I added capitols where needed in an attempt to incorporate some English grammar.
I also gave recognition to home schools and parents.

Proposed Revised Version of HB237
By Joseph A. Shearey August 3, 2013

Sec. 3301.078. (A) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the Ohio State Board of Education, hereinafter OSBE, shall not adopt, and the Ohio Department of Education, hereinafter ODE, shall not implement, the academic content standards for English, Language, Arts and Mathematics developed by the Common Core State Standards, hereinafter CCSS, initiative. Nor shall the OSBE use the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), or any other assessments related to or based on CCSS, as any of the assessments required under sections 3301.0710 and 3301.0712 of the Revised Code.
Any actions taken to adopt or implement the CCSS on or after the effective date of this section are void.
(B)(1) The OSBE is the sole authority for adopting proposed academic content standards for the State of Ohio’s public schools and shall adopt proposed academic content standards of its own choosing. No official of the State of Ohio, whether appointed or elected, shall join on behalf of the State of Ohio or a State of Ohio agency, any consortium, association, or other entity when such membership would require the State of Ohio to cede any measure of control over education, including academic content standards and assessments of such standards.
(2) The OSBE shall provide public notice of any proposed adoption or revision of academic content standards on the ODE’s web site. Also the OSBE shall place the proposed adoption on the Ohio ballot to be approved and confirmed by the public at the next election or as a special election.
The OSBE shall not place on the Ohio ballot any proposed adopted or revised statewide academic content standards until the OSBE holds a public hearing in each congressional district in the state. The OSBE shall post notice of each hearing on the ODE’s web site and in a newspaper of general circulation in the respective congressional district.
(C) No school district or school or home school shall be required to use any statewide academic standards adopted by the state board under section 3301.079 of the Revised Code as a condition for approval to operate or for receiving state funds.
(D) Notwithstanding sections 3301.0714 and 3301.94 of the Revised Code, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the OSBE, the ODE, or any other State of Ohio entity governed by the OSBE or the ODE shall not do any of the following:
(1) Expend any funds on construction, enhancement, or expansion of any statewide longitudinal data system designed to track students, or compile personally identifiable student information, beyond what is necessary for basic local school administrative needs, for academic evaluation of programs, and for student progress.
(2) Track students and/or compile and share any personally identifiable information of students or teachers with any entity inside or outside the State of Ohio. The prohibition of division (D)(2) of this section does apply to virtual, online, or hard drive file storage hosted by third parties inside or outside of the State of Ohio.
(3) Track students and/or compile and share any personally identifiable information of students or teachers with any entity that intends to use that information to develop commercial products or services or that intends to transfer the information to any other entity for use in developing commercial products or services;
(4) Track students and/or compile and share any personally identifiable information of students or teachers with any entity within the State of Ohio unless that entity is the parents or legal guardian of the particular student or an educational agency or an institution and which the State of Ohio expressly prohibits, in writing, the parent or legal guardian of the student or the agency or institution from the following:
(a) Using the information to develop commercial products or services or transferring the information to any other entity to develop commercial products or services;
(b) Using the transfer of information for economic or workforce development planning.
(5) Share any tracking of students and/or personally identifiable information of students or teachers with the United States Department Of Education.
(a) Deleted
(b) Deleted
(i) Deleted
(ii) Deleted
(iii) Deleted
(iv) Deleted
(c) Deleted
(E)If the United States Department Of Education requires, as a condition of a federal education grant, that the grant recipient provide personally identifiable information of students or teachers, the grant shall be disqualified from consideration and implementation within the State of Ohio. Further:
(1) Notwithstanding Title 5 U.S.C. Sec. 500 to the contrary, the State of Ohio exercises its’ right and power pursuant to U.S. Constitution Amendment X and shall not share any tracking of students and/or any compilation of any personally identifiable information of students or teachers with the United States Department Of Education;
(2) Any previous CCSS grant monies which the State of Ohio received before the effective date of this Section shall be disseminated in one of three ways:
(a) Return monies to the grantor as a spending cut effort, or;
(b) Retain the monies as advanced payments of future grants to Ohio, or;
(c) Retain the monies until the issue is adjudicated in a court of law.
(3) Deleted

Jerry
October 25, 2013 at 8:35 pm

Our children need “common core” just like we need :Obamma care”. Our federal government needs to stay in DC,stay out of our states politics, and take care of our debt,and and all of the other scandals in there charge.We need them in our state politics like a whistle on a plow.

Joe Shearey
November 1, 2013 at 1:34 pm

The bill as introduced is NO GOOD. It has your agree to waive your 4th Amend. rights. Wake up out there. Rep Andy Thompson is not protecting you and your children.

Jerry
November 1, 2013 at 8:01 pm

Keep federal gov. out of schools, and all other state issues. We only need them for our nations protection, nothing more.